Product Description

What happened to the great dictators of contemporary history, responsible for some of its most gruesome chapters? And do they still seem as terrifying as when they held power? An unrepentant, Idi Armin, lives in exile in Saudi Arabia and still meddles in African wars. Before dying, Bokassa proclaims himself the 13th Apostle of the Roman Catholic Church and talks of his secret meetings with the Pope. Colonel Menghitsu defends his Red Terror campaign. Mrs Hoxha, from her cell in Tirana, argues why the most isolated regime in the world was right to adopt a brutal Stalinist ideology. Paris-based Baby Doc Duvalier speaks about voodoo, solar panels, his women and his lost money. Mrs Milosevic defends the wars in the former Yugoslavia and declares her love for her husband. Jaruzelski reveals his personal transition from son of an aristocratic family to autocrat army general in sunglasses. Riccardo Orizio has tracked down these fallen tyrants and thrown a new light on people whose names have become synonymous with misery, death and terror for entire nations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #354079 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Publisher
An extraordinary insight into some of the most evil leaders of our times.

About the Author
Riccardo Orizio is a London correspondent for La Repubblica. He is the author of Lost White Tribes which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. He lives in London.

Customer Reviews

an excellent author in the making
After, reading this book, i have to say that i am much more knowlegeable about dictators which seemed to have slipped from the world stage but who have left their legacy upon their respective countries. The interviews are intimate and orizio seems adept at bringing to the surface, the true character of such people as Bokassa and Jaruzelski. My only problem with the book is that, he seems to only scratch the surface but leaves you interested. All the information is fresh and relevant. Each chapter is about each dictator , going through the background and the eventual downfall of tyrants such as idi amin.
I would recommend the book, it's certainly very readable

Where Are They Now?
Those seeking detailed biographies of the dictators Italian journalist Orizio tracks down, or penetrating histories and analyses of the years of their respective rule should turn elsewhere, as this is not the book for them. Instead, this is an oddly compelling mix of investigatory reportage and "Where Are They Now?" for readers with an interest in international events. Anyone looking for rigor and meticulous detail will not be pleased with the short chapters such as those on Idi Amin or Bokassa, in which Orizio spends more time recounting his efforts to find his quarry than actually talking to them. This is not necessarily a bad thing though, for the sad truth of the book is that these dictators may have come from a range of cultural and economic backgrounds, but they all end up saying the same thing.

In his preface, Orizio writes that "I deliberately chose those who had fallen from power in disgrace, because those who fall on their feet tend not to examine their own conscience." However, the cliché of the banality of evil fulfills itself, as every single interviewee has the same lies, excuses, and delusions as the others (except for Bokassa, who insists the Pope secretly proclaimed him the 13th Apostle). Unrepentence is rife, as the interviewees trot out the same old chestnuts:"history will vindicate me", "the crimes I'm accused of are all lies perpetrated by my enemies", "my country was better off under me, " "I love my people/country." Clearly none of them have any interest in or incentive for honest examination of their rule, indeed, at this point belief in their own mythology is probably an ingrained psychological self-defense mechanism.

Orizio does present a brief sketch of each dictator's country, and of the history of their rule. We find that hand in hand with the psychological similarity is a methodological similarity in rule. Rise to power based on ideology (or voodoo in the case of Baby Doc), consolidation of power via construction of cult of personality enforced by secret police, leading to corruption, cronyism, and systematic transfer of national wealth to Swiss bank accounts. The odd man out in all this is General Jaruzelski, who instituted martial law in Poland in 1981, and whose hands are vastly less bloody than those of the six others in the book.